Freja continued to eat and drink in silence. The more she did so the better she felt, and she made an attempt to stand up from bed and stretch as she always did when she first woke up. Her knees buckled under her weight and she slumped to the floor. Brushing her hair out of her eyes she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Well, this is embarrassing."

Just then, two men stepped from behind the curtain, along with Poppy, who immediately began scolding her. "...just woke up and thought to herself well enough to get up on her own, stubborn girl. We have enough of those types here." She grabbed Freja from under her arm and steadied her to her feet. Conjuring a cane she handed it to her. "Until you're acclimated, you will be using this. No arguing!" Freja shut her mouth before she could quip back.

Surrounded by people she didn't know, she asked sarcastically, "Well, where's the loo at least? I'm sure I can manage that on my own?"

In the tiny bathroom, she washed her hands and splashed water on her face. She looked at her reflection and ran her fingers through the knots in her hair. With a smile she said, "Well, this is familiar at least."

Stepping back into the infirmary, she took in the scenery. It was as beautiful inside as it was out. Someone clearing their throat brought her attention back and she slowly made her way back over to the group, who motioned for her to get back into bed. Waiting a moment before anyone started conversation, Freja decided to end their suffering and begin, "Well, where do we go from here?"

Snape sighed and motioned to Dumbledore. "He's the one with the answers..." and with a hush from Poppy, Snape closed his mouth. Dumbledore began, "Well my dear, I have an idea. If you agree, we can make arrangements for you to stay here." He smiled at her warmly, and Freja felt as if she had no reason to not trust his words.

"And if I don't agree?"

"Your memories of Hogwarts will be erased, and if you cannot regain your own memories will be provided for you. You'll start a new life elsewhere under the care and guidance of acquaintances of ours, and we will make sure you have everything you need to start fresh."

A lump caught in Freja's throat. The events that led her to this point were pretty traumatizing and she wasn't entirely confident she'd be able to handle anymore of that. "So, what's your plan?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Standing in the newly furnished quarters set up for her, Freja stood in the very senter. A large canopy bed tucked in the corner of the room, her very own fireplace, a tea table and an armchair were just to name a few of her new belongings. An empty bookcase stood at the opposite corner. On her tea table were medicines she was instructed to take to make her recovery process even smoother. Trailing her eyes around her surroundings she noticed another door which led into a personal bathroom. Sighing, she made way to slip off her hospital gown and step into the shower. As the water trickled down her back, she shuddered. Going over the plan in her head, she made the decision that going along with staying here was better than the alternative.

Moving forward, she was going to be taking over the position of Caretaker while the original position holder was away on "medical leave", though she wasn't sure how true that was. Argus Filtch, his name was? She was going to go by the title of 'Squib' if anyone asked her of her abilities. It was explained to her that it was someone who was born to magical parentage who had no magical abilities of their own. "How cunning. How clever!" Freja thought to herself.

Dumbledore made the alternative offer sound worse than a death sentence. Snape's eye rolling and scoffs did not go unnoticed by her, while the other two blatantly ignored him. He also gave her the impression he did not want her there; at least he wasn't good at hiding it like the other two. Unless that was his intention?

"What an unpleasant man!" She felt herself becoming angry.

Drying off and wrapping up in a towel, and running a comb through her hair, Freja was already exhausted. Her new canopy bed was calling out to her, and she was more than happy to oblige. Taking a moment to open a trunk she was relieved to see some clothing in there ready and waiting for her. Picking up a set of silk pajamas and donning them, taking her 'medicine', she crawled into bed and quickly fell asleep.

Throughout the night bits and pieces of her life before Hogwarts drifted in and out of her dreams. She had a gut feeling that these memories were true; faces of friends and family popped up frequently. Here and there she'd be reminded of a boyfriend, coworkers, but mostly of her adoptive mother. She remembered dressing appropriately for a job interview, and a strange looking man. He had followed her down a flight of steps and was in the process of pulling something from his cloak when a knocking woke her from her dream.

Freja groaned and pulled the covers over her head, wishing to fall back to sleep. When the knocking persisted she gave in and got up to open her chamber door. The dark haired man from yesterday was standing there, looking at her dully.

"Nice pajamas." he teased, and smirked at her flushing cheeks.

Saying the first sarcastic thing she could come up with, she replied, "Thanks. It's my nicest lingerie. Count yourself blessed to see it."

He suppressed a chuckle successfully. She was kind of funny, he'd give her that. "No matter. I was sent to fetch you. Dumbledore wants to meet with you again for breakfast in the great hall. Then he will be showing you your duties for the year."

"I see. Just give me a moment to get dressed." She gently shut the door, and let out a heavy sigh. 'What did I get myself into?'

Rummaging through her trunk to find something to wear, she settled on a plain and oversized blue button shirt and gray tartan skirt that met her knees. Her original shoes, which were relatively unscathed from her fall, would have to do. They were her favorite pair anyway. She winced a little as she slipped them on, as she still wasn't at a hundred percent, and made her way back to the door where her new colleague was waiting for her. With a flick of his wrist he motioned for her to follow. "Right this way, Miss Freja."

She was awestruck by everything she saw while following him. The hallways were decorated with hanging lanterns and paintings she was shocked to see were moving and speaking. The halls opened up into an atrium that was covered in flowers and other plants she couldn't recognize. "You'll learn everything about those over time. Please be sure to keep up." Snape drew on.

"I apologize. Everything here is so beautiful." she sighed. "There is a lot to look at, it's a bit overwhelming."

She followed him up another short staircase and to a large set of doors. "We have arrived." Easily pushing the doors open, they both walked into the Great Hall together. It was lined with tables that were pushed up against the walls, and thousands of tiny colored candles hung floating in midair. The ceiling was an animated bright blue and cloudless sky. She stared at it for a few minutes, when Snape said, "It is enchanted to match the weather. Rain or shine." he clicked his teeth and continued moving forward, up to a larger table where faces familiar and strange were waiting for them.

Freja flashed them a shy smile. "Hello. It is nice to meet you." Joining them up at the table, she waited for everyone to start eating before feeling like she could help herself to anything. A plain piece of toast with peanut butter was enough to satiate her appetite for now.

A stern looking woman introduced herself first. Minerva McGonagall was her name. Freja learned she taught something called Transfiguration and was head of the house of Gryffindor. She pointed at each person and introduced them to her; Pomona Sprout taught herbology and was the head of house Hufflepuff, and Filius Flitwick who taught Charms and was the head of house Ravenclaw. Pausing on Snape, she said "You've already met him, but he teaches Potions and is the head of Slytherin house."

"He's a bit rough and guarded though, isn't he? What's his deal?"

"It's not my place to gossip. Maybe he'll tell you if you ask him, though I doubt it. Excuse me." Minerva got up to sit and talk to Dumbledore.

The other people were welcoming to her, and warmly greeted her as a new member of faculty. It seemed as though they believed her story of being a Squib and was taking over Argus' position until he was better and she made no effort to correct them. She had already caused enough trouble as it was. Helping herself to a cup of black coffee, she sat back and just observed how everyone else interacted with each other. All of them were sarcastic with each other, but in a familial way.

Noticing a newspaper, she reached over to look at it. The front page mentioned a scandal at the school and her heart skipped a beat or two reading it, and her smile wavered. ``How unfortunate, but these things happen I guess.' She stopped at the photo of the perpetrator and frowned further. His face seemed so familiar, yet she couldn't put her finger on it. Just as she was about to turn the page to read further into the incident, someone calling her name interrupted her.

"Miss Freja?"

"Hello, Severus." she smiled at him. "Do you need something?"

"Are you ready to begin your tour? In a few short weeks the students will be here to begin term, and you'll need to know your way around." He held out his hand to help her out of her seat, and handed her her cane. "You're still unsteady on your feet. Perhaps the walk will help you to feel less stiff?"

The tour was slow and steady. He made sure to keep his pace slow to not overexert her. Her look of being awestruck never left her face, throughout the gardens and corridors, nor up the moving staircases and into the classrooms. The library was something she was most excited about. It left her with butterflies in her stomach.

"Are all of these books available to rent out?"

"You'll need explicit permission from Professor Dumbledore to take the ones from the Restricted Section, however those will do you no good unless you know what you're looking for. They're quite boring, if I can be honest with you. Feel free to borrow whichever you like, though I'd start with Hogwarts: a History, if you really wanted to learn more about this place. There's only so much a tour can teach you."

"Thank you." she smiled. "You've been so kind."

He hesitated before continuing. "You really don't remember anything except your name?"

"I remembered some names and faces from a dream I had, but it's not much to go on. I was adopted, and my adoptive mother is dead. I don't know much about my birth parents other than they were unfit to take care of me so they lost custody. Mom chose to keep me with my surname so I'd at least have that part of them with me. Lowes. It's not much but I'm grateful to have that from them."

"How did your mother die?"

"Cancer," Freja shrugged. "By the time she found out it had already progressed too far. Treatment wasn't an option anymore. But enough about that. Can you show me that book you were talking about?"

He gave a curt nod, and walked her to the section it was housed. "So, your last name. You never offered it. What is it if I may ask?"

"Lowes."

Pulling the book off of the shelf, he licked his lips and pouted slightly. "Freja Lowes. Interesting."

He placed the heavy book onto the table and pulled out a chair for her once again. "Enjoy your reading Miss Lowes. I'll be back for you shortly. I just have to take care of a few of my own responsibilities first. If you need anything -"

"I'll be sure to ask." she gave a wry smile.

With a slight nod, he was off, leaving her to her books.